Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1176: Battle of Tegea (2)

Suddenly, Agesilaus swayed and nearly collapsed. A servant quickly caught him.

He had stood for a long time to boost morale and observe the enemy, but his aging body could no longer bear the strain. Left with no choice, he sank into the wooden chair prepared for him.

...

The commander of the Daionian Army, Crotokatax, was equally tense. He was facing a massive engagement against Sparta, the overlord of Greece, in his very first battle in command.

Looking ahead at the dazzling wall of light stretching endlessly to both sides, Crotokatax felt an invisible pressure. He knew his order would determine the life or death of tens of thousands of Daionian soldiers, so he hesitated.

"Your Highness, the soldiers have rested enough. You may issue the order to attack," Plintors stepped forward to gently remind him.

"Uh... shouldn't we wait a little longer?" Crotokatax asked uncertainly.

Plintors deliberately looked up at the sky. "If we wait any longer, I fear today's battle will have to be canceled. If we miss this chance, who knows when we will catch the Spartan army for a pitched battle again? The situation will only grow more unfavorable for us..."

Plintors's words made Crotokatax's expression shift. He remained silent for a moment before gritting his teeth. "Then let us attack!"

At the sound of the horns, the military banners flying high throughout the formations pointed eastward in unison.

"Advance!" Max bellowed, issuing the order to his detachment alongside the other officers.

The soldiers in his detachment gave a few excited shouts. They pulled their long shields from the dirt and slung them over their backs (to save the soldiers' strength and make marching easier, the arms merchants had added a long strip of cloth to the inside of the shields at the Ministry of Military Affairs' request, allowing the soldiers to carry them over their shoulders). Gripping their pikes and javelins, they marched steadily forward alongside the other detachments.

With the battle about to begin, Max felt somewhat excited, though his excitement paled in comparison to the Greek soldiers under his command. He knew they were burning with the desire to defeat the Spartan Warriors who had dominated Greece for decades, eager to prove that the Greek citizens of the Kingdom of Daunia were the strongest fighters in the Greek World. Therefore, Max had absolutely no worries about his men's morale.

"The Theonians have begun their advance." Hearing the bugles sound from across the field, Agesilaus unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Facing the mercenary generals who had come for instructions, he spoke without any panic. "Do not rush to sound the attack. Let the Theonians advance a little further. That way, when we engage, the City of Tegea will be on their flank and rear."

As the Daionian soldiers slowly advanced, rows of wheat seedlings were trampled flat. The Daionian army's formation, initially a single straight line, gradually stratified into distinct layers. The nimble light infantry had already passed through the checkerboard formation of the heavy infantry to take the lead. Next were the cavalry on both wings; although they had not yet spurred their horses into a gallop to conserve energy, they still moved faster than the heavy infantry.

The Daionian light infantry spread out in a loose formation across the very front of the left, center, and right wings. When they were about two li away from the Spartan formation, Agesilaus received the report and finally gave the order to attack.

On the left wing were the Spartan Warriors clad in red cloaks, the center consisted mainly of mercenaries, and the right wing was made up of mercenary soldiers who had recently withdrawn from the siege. While the right wing was ten ranks deep, the center and left wings had their depth increased to twenty ranks, with the Macedonian Cavalry stationed at both ends... It appeared Agesilaus had deployed a highly traditional Greek phalanx, intending to fight a textbook Greek Heavy Infantry battle against the Daionian Army. The only deviation from tradition was the countless light infantrymen passing through the gaps in the formation, moving forward to meet the enemy in an equally loose array.

Agesilaus had some understanding of the Daionian Army. He knew they excelled at using light infantry to launch preemptive strikes and disrupt enemy formations during pitched battles. Because of this, he had specifically instructed the generals recruiting mercenaries to hire more light infantry, ensuring they could counter and weaken the Daionian light infantry when the battle began.

"What did you say? The enemy has a lot of slingers!" Crotokatax exclaimed, surprised by the scout's report.

"Yes, Your Highness. The enemy is hurling a massive amount of stones at our light infantry from a distance, causing injuries among the soldiers."

"I believe the Spartans may have recruited some Rhodes slingers." As Staff Officer Muklu offered his guess, he let out a regretful sigh. "It's a pity the original slingers in our First Legion have already retired!"

"Damn it! I should have asked Royal Father to send some Balearics!" Crotokatax was filled with regret.

After the Southern Iberian Region was annexed into the Kingdom of Daunia, the Balearic Islands naturally submitted to Daionia as well. Davos permitted them to govern themselves and generously agreed to resolve their food shortages, but he also laid down a condition: should the need arise in times of war, the Balearics had to provide no fewer than 2,000 slingers.

"There is no need to worry, Your Highness," Plintors comforted him. "The Spartan light infantry are hastily cobbled together and nowhere near as well-trained as our soldiers. They are merely taking advantage of their range to gain some early ground. I imagine our light infantry will soon make them suffer."

Crotokatax remained somewhat skeptical, but he at least relaxed a little inwardly.

Shortly after the light infantry of both armies engaged, the cavalry on both sides also began to accelerate. Although the tall wheat seedlings hindered the horses' gallop to some extent, the cavalrymen had no time to worry about such things, and the opposing cavalry units soon violently clashed together.

At both ends of the battle line, 1,000 Daionian cavalrymen faced off against 750 Macedonian Cavalry. While the Daionian cavalry held the numerical advantage, the Macedonian Cavalry—an elite force on the Greek Mainland renowned alongside the Cavalry of Thessaly—were by no means weak in horsemanship, morale, or combat strength.

Though the First Cavalry Legion bore the title of "First," unlike the infantry legions, its combat strength did not reign supreme over the rest. In fact, the recently established Fifth Cavalry Legion, Sixth Cavalry Legion, and Seventh Cavalry Legion were even stronger. The Fifth Cavalry Legion was stationed in Iberia, drawing its recruits mainly from conquered Lusitanian horsemen. The Sixth Cavalry Legion was stationed in the Po River Region, its ranks entirely composed of Gallic cavalry. As for the Seventh Cavalry Legion stationed in Hadrumetum, it did not maintain a permanent roster; instead, when needed, it required the various tribes of Western Numidia to provide 3,000 to 4,000 cavalrymen. It was the kingdom's only light cavalry legion, as well as the cavalry legion with the largest headcount.

Therefore, Legion Commander Curtius, who had assumed his post the year before last, felt the pressure and intensified the cavalry's training regimen (his predecessor, Lydas, had chosen to retire because advanced age and accumulated injuries left him unable to ride a horse for long periods).

At this time, the cavalry clash could produce no clear victor in the short term.

When the news reached the command center at the rear of the Daionian formation, Plintors took the initiative to speak to prevent Crotokatax from worrying again. "The reason His Majesty did not dispatch many cavalrymen originally was because the Peloponnese has many mountains and few plains. There is little room for cavalry to maneuver. Moreover, an overseas expedition already consumes a massive amount of rations, and cavalry are an even greater drain on our food supply. Since Greek cavalry is inherently weak to begin with, he only sent a single cavalry legion. They are not our primary force for achieving victory."

"Our primary force for achieving victory is our infantry legions!" Crotokatax gazed ahead with anticipation. As the entire army continuously pushed forward, the churning dust had already begun to spread, blurring his vision. Instead, the ceaseless cries of agony drifting back were only growing clearer.

Having suffered some minor losses, the Daionian light infantry sped up to close the distance with the enemy. Then, the archers used the exquisite marksmanship honed through years of grueling training to launch an attack upon the foe. The Cretan archers could barely hold their own against them.

Seizing the opportunity, the javeliniers dashed forward, closing the distance to within 30 meters to hurl their javelins, but they were met with a counterattack from the numerous Thracian peltasts.

Compared to the Daionian light infantry, whose total numbers stood at a mere 3,000 (since the light infantry cohort of the Seventh Legion had been left behind to guard the camp), the Spartan Coalition had committed more than twice that number to the light infantry skirmish. While their individual unit types were not weak in ability, this hastily assembled force lacked tacit cooperation and frequently got in each other's way. On top of that, they lacked experience in large-scale vanguard light infantry clashes. Thus, despite being outnumbered, the Daionian light infantry seized the initiative by relying on agile maneuvers and skillful tactical coordination.

As the main formations of the two armies drew closer and closer, the light infantry of the Spartan Coalition hurriedly retreated from the vanguard, afraid of being crushed between the lines. The Daionian light infantry, however, fearlessly held their ground at the front, turning their ranged attacks upon the slowly advancing heavy infantry of the Spartan Coalition.

Though the arrows falling from the sky did not cause them significant harm, they were able to slow their advance and disrupt their formation. The heavy javelins hurtling toward them, however, posed a threat to their lives.

Unable to dodge, the mercenary heavy infantry at the front of the formation were forced to break into a run before they were even within charging distance, turning an already crooked battle line into something even more uneven.

The Daionian light infantry swiftly retreated through the gaps of the checkerboard formation behind them. The various small squares quickly closed up to form a unified formation. Immediately after, the officers' shouts rang out: "Ready javelins!"

By now, the majority of the Spartan Coalition soldiers had charged to within a distance of 40 meters. Not a moment too early, not a moment too late—the timing was perfect. This was the exact result of the Daionian Army's long and grueling training.